How well is Iowa serving its Black and Latino 3- and 4-year-olds?
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7.9/10
Quality Rating
6/10
Quality Rating
8/10
Quality Rating
Across the nation, far too few Black and Latino children attend a high-quality state-funded preschool
In a first-of-its-kind analysis examining race and ethnicity in state-funded preschool programs, The Education Trust found that only 1 percent of Latino children and 4 percent of Black children were enrolled in high-quality state preschool programs. The analysis, which examines data from 26 states where enrollment is reported by race and ethnicity, found that no state truly provided high-quality and high-access for Black and Latino 3- and 4-year-olds.
How well is Iowa serving its Black and Latino 3- and 4-year-olds when compared to other states?
What can Iowa’s state leaders do to make state preschool programs more equitable?
Iowa’s preschool programs must improve both their quality and the meaningful access they provide to Black and Latino children and their families. The Iowa Shared Visions program met only 6 of 10 quality benchmarks, while the Iowa Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program met 8 of 10. Combined, these two programs serve only 33% of its Latino 3- and 4-year-olds, and 35% of its Black 3- and 4-year-olds. For every 10 Black children that would be enrolled in Iowa’s state-funded preschool programs if they were fully represented, 9.6 were enrolled, indicating that Black children were underrepresented in the programs. In order to increase quality and meaningful access to its preschool programs for Black and Latino children, Iowa’s state leaders should ensure the following:
Prioritize expansion in underserved communities. While Iowa should ensure access to high-quality ECE for all young children, it should prioritize expanded access in neighborhoods with the highest number or percentage of historically underserved children (including Black and Latino children) who are not currently enrolled in a high-quality program.
Spread the word to Black and Latino families. Iowa should conduct substantial outreach using strategies to increase awareness of ECE programs such as providing outreach materials in multiple languages including Spanish, reducing paperwork, and engaging in community outreach.
Make enrollment easy. Iowa should offer enrollment materials in multiple languages including Spanish, that take little time to complete, and that let families enroll online, by mail, and in person. Enrollment materials should not request information regarding citizenship status, immigration status, or work status of children or family members.
Offer hours and locations that align with the schedules and commutes of working families. Iowa should align program hours with the most common work schedules for low-income families, including shift and seasonal work, and provide programs or wraparound child care. It should strategically locate programs at or near Iowa’s largest work sites for Black and Latino families and prioritize public transit accessibility of ECE programs.
Meet quality benchmarks. Iowa should continuously strive to improve quality. This will improve outcomes for all enrollees, including Black and Latino children. NIEER quality benchmarks are important minimum quality standards that all state programs should meet. Iowa should also refer to other, more comprehensive quality standards such as the Head Start Program Performance Standards in order to provide high-quality, culturally and linguistically competent, developmentally appropriate preschool programs.
Eliminate suspensions and expulsions. Both of these practices disproportionately affect young children of color, and should be replaced with evidence-based practices and the professional development necessary to implement them.
Support families. Iowa should ensure that its state preschool program can connect families to support services, including mental health services, emergency crisis services, early intervention, home visiting, developmental assessment, and services facilitating seamless transitions into kindergarten.
Support dual language learners. Iowa should offer dual language immersion preschool programs in Spanish (the state’s most common non-English spoken language), and prioritize access for dual language learners (children with a home language other than English who are developing their home language and English at the same time). Iowa should invest in recruiting and retaining qualified, multilingual ECE staff and training educators in evidence-based dual language immersion models. Iowa should provide all ECE staff, whether in dual language immersion programs or not, with professional development to meaningfully support families with a home language other than English even when staff do not speak families’ home language.
Diversify the workforce. All children benefit from diverse educators, and research shows that children of color and dual language learners especially benefit from teachers who are reflective of students’ cultural and linguistic diversity. People of color and multilingual people should be represented throughout the various roles within ECE programs, including administrators and lead teachers.
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How is the country doing?
In a first-of-its-kind analysis examining race and ethnicity in state-funded preschool programs, The Education Trust found that only 1 percent of Latino children and 4 percent of Black children were enrolled in high-quality state preschool programs. The analysis, which examines data from 26 states where enrollment is reported by race and ethnicity, found that no state truly provided high-quality and high-access for Black and Latino 3- and 4-year-olds.
Additional State Data
The data used for this page comes from the National Institute for Early Education Research. See addtional data charts below from NIEER’s annual state profiles.
